Appendix E, Rule 26
Audible signals for starting a heat shall be at one-minute intervals and shall be a warning signal, a preparatory signal and
a starting signal. During the minute before the starting signal, oral signals shall be made at ten-second intervals, and during
the final ten seconds at one-second intervals. Each signal shall be timed from the beginning of its sound.
So what you’ve got there is great for the the final minute, but the RRS require a signal at the 2 minute mark.
Like I said, tell me what and when you want the markers and I will do 2 minute versions. I don’t understand “warning signal, a preparatory signal and
a starting signal” means (I’m just starting out here, but I’m decent with computers).
Do you guys want:
Bell at 2:00 start
“1 minute”
“50 seconds”
“40 seconds”
“30 seconds”
“20 seconds”
“10 seconds”
“9”
“8”
“7”
“6”
"5’
“4”
“3”
“2”
“1”
BANG!
You’ve got it right.
2 min: Preperatory signal: boats to the starting area
1 min: Warning signal: racing rules are in effect
0: Starting signal: Bang!
Almost. . . 2 min warning 1 min Prep (racing rules apply) 0 start John
Here are the 2 minute versions, Bells, female voice, Cannon, metronome, and no metronome. Listen to it, critique.
Sorry they are two separate files this time, two in one zip was to big for the site.
Just to clarify, we use the one minute sequence for our club/fun/practice races. No need to waste a minute when we are all ready to start.
Thanks for the email, John!
What about a 1:30 minutes…( Hope it works…)
Mr Magoo
Hi Guzz, can you make 1 min file with this sequence ?
“1 minute”
“50 seconds”
“40 seconds”
“30 seconds”
“20 seconds”
“10 seconds”
“9”
“8”
“7”
“6”
"5’
“4”
“3”
“2”
“1”
Short Fog Horn type sound …not long
Cheers Alan
To many fog horns to choose from
http://www.findsounds.com/ISAPI/search.dll?keywords=foghorn
Everyone has their personal preference. I chose the cannon because that’s what they use in the America’s Cup races. The bells… I just liked they way they sound 
What about this one ?
Hi Guzz …wow did not know there were so many sounds… but I found the sound I was looking for
http://www.newtrucks.com/airhorn.wav
Cheers Alan
OK, here you go. You didn’t specify metronome or not so you got both.
I have to agree with IanHB, music gets really annoying, really quick.
Hi Guzz, great stuff thank you ! …did not know what metronome was !? but after listening to it the beating effect is about 1/10th the speed of my heart rate when I’m on the start line :shake: …so maybe it is a good thing to help slow it down and get into race mode :mean:
Cheers Alan
Wow, one year after I started this thread it springs back to life. Guzz, thanks for making all the variants…they all are very useful. I would like to ask for one more, if it is not too much trouble. Can you make a 2-minute with metronome with the same “sounds” as K1W1
5-second metronome intro
“2 minutes till mark”
“1 minute 45 seconds till mark”
“1 minute 30 seconds till mark”
“1 minute 15 seconds till mark”
“1 minute till mark”
“50 seconds”
“40 seconds”
“30 seconds”
“20 seconds”
“10 seconds”
“9”
“8”
“7”
“6”
"5’
“4”
“3”
“2”
“1”
Short Fog Horn or bell
Thanks,
Scott
Dang it, that extra 5 seconds intro is killing me. It keeps messing up my math (I keep forgetting to add 5 to everything).
Tell ya what, how about I tell everyone how to do this, so then they can make their own.
You will need the following:
Audacity
also you will need Lame to make MP3’s, following the instructions: How do I download and install the LAME MP3 encoder?
If you can just use WAV files, skip the Lame part.
Get those two programs installed. They aren’t that hard, really. It’s easy.
Now you need the audio “markers”. I used text to speech web page from AT&T research. I really shouldn’t be using this and then posting, but… If you’re using it for personal use, I believe it’s OK, because that’s what you’re doing in the end.
But you type in the text, and click download the save the file. I suggest renaming the files so you can find it later. Don’t try to type in all the markers at once, then try to break them up, to much work.
For example: the “1 minute” marker, is saved as “1 minute.wav”.
For other markers, bells, horns, cannons, just google for them.
So now you have all your markers. Open Audacity and start a new project.
The first thing I do is Generate the Click Track…, Tempo=60 beats/minute, Beats per measure=60, Number of Measures= 1 (for one minute), 2 (for two minutes). This is the metronome clicking. If you don’t like it, skip this step.
Now you import your markers, one track at a time. Project, Import Audio… then select the desired marker. The marker will be in a new track at the front. You will need to slide the audio down to the proper point in the project, use the selection slider (upper left, horizontal bar with arrows on each side, between magnifying glass and the Astrix). Pay attention where you slide it to, to get really accurate zoom in.
Just keep repeating importing the audio markers, and sliding them to the proper point in time. Pay attention to where the actual sound starts. The “text to speech” has silence in the front, as do most of the other audio files you download from the net.
Save the project, the Export as WAV or MP3. Your done.
Hi guys, we are having a discussion about setups to do the start signals and I came accross this thread. Have you guys got it sorted out? I record for a living. I can supply very clean versions of the requested options discussed earlier if you like.
For video shoots I supply a count-in with little fast pips at different frequencies for accents so people know which are the main numbers (think PIP-bop-bop-bop) I worked it out so the guys on set don’t go insane hearing this loud thing blasting the whole time.
Only issue is our accents for you all LOL. Imagine an Aussie accent with a drawl and lower pitched:p I can do a demo and if we pass the auditions you can use them. If not, one of you can record them, send to me and I’ll put together 
Cheers
Andrew
(glad if can finally give a bit back)
Andrew,
I made this copy up by following the directions provided in this thread. I think the “ticks” are a bit loud and the horn at the end is a little loud as well, but it has worked out well for out club this year.
Scott
I’m back in studio on Tuesday and will check it out
I’ll put together one based on that and see if it’s any more appropraite
Cheers
Would it be too much/too many calls or inappropriate to add a “90 seconds” call, instead of “1 minute, 30 seconds”? It’s not required by the rules, but there’s nothing to say it can’t be inserted. It just takes less time to say 90 than 1minute 30. Also, the calls should start right on the mark, instead of ending on the mark. Having that 90 second call avoids the surprise of going a whole minute without a mark, and a experienced sailor will know how to position the boat to be in a good place for the 90 second mark.
Do you even have to say “seconds until mark?” we all know time is measured in seconds to the start. In Guzz’s or Scott’s examples, it takes 2 seconds to make each call, so trying to say “10 seconds” then"9" throws the timing off. In short, No verbal calls once the 2-minute countdown starts should last more than 1 second.
So it would be:
Bell at 2:00 start “2 minutes”
“90 seconds”
“60 seconds”
“50”
“40”
“30”
“20”
“10”
“9”
“8”
“7”
“6”
"5’
“4”
“3”
“2”
“1”
BUZZ!
I agree with tomohawk and would loose the “seconds” on the last 10. Makes it more precise.
So all sounds or voices start on the exact timing ie. 2 min will start on 2min EXACTlY as opposed to the voice pre-empting the actual time.
No problems. Not sure what bookings are in the studio but should be able to start putting it together and have something really quickly:)
Cheers
Andrew